More than 1,000 residents of Kiangwe and Mararani villages in Lamu have been forced to use salty water straight from the Indian Ocean for domestic use due to water shortage.
The two villages are among several others occupied by the minority Boni community.
The community has for decades depended on boreholes and wells located deep inside the Boni Forest, most of which have since dried up due to constant drought.
Kiangwe community elder Fatma Shizo said women are bearing the brunt as they are forced to rise up early and trek over 40 kilometres in search of water in the only remaining freshwater well.
Shizo says apart from contending with the extreme cold and long distances, the women also have to queue for days at the well just to get a gallon of fresh water to take home.
“Majority of us just have to use the available salty water from the ocean. It's disgusting but we have no option,” Shizo said.
Resident Khadija Hussein says the situation has caused them untold suffering as many of them, especially children, suffer from frequent bouts of stomach and skin ailments.
Ahmed Abdalla says many villagers have been left with discoloured teeth after using water from the ocean.
“There is a serious water shortage here. We are killing ourselves by using this kind of water but what do we do? Look around, almost each one of us has discoloured teeth. It’s because of the high acidity of the salty ocean water. That discolouration doesn’t come off even after intense brushing,” Abdalla said.
Mararani village elder Abdi Chengele says many households go for as long as three days without cooking as they have no water for that purpose.
The various Kenya Defense Forces camps in their areas, however, continue to come to their aid with supplies of fresh drinking water from time to time according to Chengele.
“The KDF and police camps will always give us some water from time to time but that isn’t enough. We hope the government sends us some real help including water boozers to save us from this agony,” Chengele says.
The residents also want the government to establish desalination plants to help effectively turn saline ocean water to fresh water for subsistence use.
Edited by R.Wamochie
